The price Anusorn Pipatsuksamai paid for a night's drinking was three months in a coma and waking up to discover his left leg amputated and his left arm paralysed.

All he remembered when he came to was he and friends had celebrated back-to-school day at his dormitory at the Rajamongkol Institute of Technology Nontha-buri campus. They bought "plenty of beers" from their usual shop near the university.

After the beers were gone and the boys were drunk they headed out on motorcycles for some more fun at a friend's home.

They never got there. Anusorn's bike crashed. The rest is still "missing". When he came out of his coma - in 2003 - he learned one of his friends was killed that fateful night.

He blames his drinking for the accident but also claims alcohol is too easy to buy at shops too close to the institute.

Today, when Anusorn sees bars and shops selling alcohol right near the school he cannot stop thinking they are a tragedy waiting to happen.

A recent study by Mahidol University proves Anusorn has not just shifted the blame for his recklessness to others.

Released yesterday, the results show people who live close to alcohol ads drink 12 times more often than those who don't.

Exposure to alcohol advertising - including at points of purchase like grocery shops and convenience stores - can increase the likelihood of drinking by three to four times, Assoc Professor Kusol Soonthorn-dhada, from the university's Institute for Population and Social Research, said.

Any form of alcohol advertising stimulated the desire to drink two-fold, the researcher said.

The study was conducted on 520 Bangkok residents - half of whom were teetotallers.

Some 65 per cent of drinkers were aware of ads for alcoholic beverages compared with just 40 per cent of non-drinkers.

"A new and interesting alcohol advertisement always attracts those who are already drinkers. They look for something new or an attractive sales promotion," Kusol said.

However, 83 per cent of respondents who drank believed it was important to govern alcohol ads. And 72 per cent of non-drinkers thought the same.

"This means they are more concerned about others, especially their children," Kusol argued.

A related survey conducted by a youth group opposed to teenage drinking called Y-Act found Kasetsart University was the site most exposed to alcohol. It had

more ads and bars and shops

selling alcohol than any other.

"Unbelievable! There are up to 48 bars and shops and 16 ads," said Wanchalerm Satsaksit, who carried out the study.

The average number of bars located within a radius of 500 metres from 12 university campuses surveyed was 30, he said.

Another Y-Act survey found that 44 bars surrounded Pimanvit primary school on Khao San Road.

"They always tell kids alcohol is bad, cigarettes are bad. But why do they still allow these places so close to children that they become used to it and perceive it as ordinary?" said Y-Act's Prontip Mankong.

Arthit Khwankhom

The Nation